“It Ain’t Over” – The Trailer is Here!

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While I’m not a regular viewer of baseball (by any stretch), I’d like to see It Ain’t Over.

Only in theaters in the New York Tri-State Area and Los Angeles May 12. Coming soon to a theater near you.

Directed By: Sean Mullin

Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra is one of baseball’s greatest. He amassed ten World Series rings, 3 MVP awards and 18 All-Star Game appearances. He caught the only perfect game in World Series history. Yet for many his deserved stature was overshadowed by his simply being himself and being recognized more for his unique personality, TV commercial appearances and unforgettable “Yogi-isms,” initially head-scratching philosophical nuggets that make a lot more sense the more you think about them. In telling the whole story, It Ain’t Over gives Berra his due in following the life of a savvy, commanding, bad-ball hitting catcher with a squat frame but also a D-Day veteran, loving husband and father and, yes, product endorser and originator (mostly) of his own brand of proverbs now ingrained into everyday life. Granddaughter Lindsay Berra tells his story along with his sons, former Yankee teammates, players he managed, writers, broadcasters, and admirers (such as Billy Crystal), plus photos and footage on and off the diamond. Berra famously said, “I’d be pretty dumb if I started being something I’m not,” and It Ain’t Over lovingly makes clear he stayed who he was for the benefit of baseball and everyone else.

“Duel” (1971) directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Dennis Weaver / Z-View

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Duel (1971)

Director:  Steven Spielberg

Writer:  Richard Matheson

Stars: Dennis Weaver, Jacqueline Scott, Gene Dynarski, Lucille Benson, Tim Herbert, Charles Seel, Shirley O’Hara and Carey Loftin.

Tagline: A duel is about to begin between a man, a truck, and an open road. Where a simple battle of wits is now a matter of life and death.

The Plot…

David Mann (Weaver), a salesman, is having a bad day.  He had an argument with his wife and she’s still ticked.  He has another stop to make before heading home and it’s a long drive both ways.  Mann’s day is about to get a lot worse when on a remote section of road an old tanker truck is creeping along.  Mann finally gets a chance to pass and does.  Almost immediately the tanker takes the lead back and then quickly slows down.  As Mann tries to pass again, the trucker tries to force him off the road. The trucker makes it clear he plans to kill Mann.  Miles out on a deserted road, what chance does Mann have?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Duel was the tv movie that put Steven Spielberg on the map.  He had directed a some television episodes (Marcus Welby, Night Gallery, The Name of the Game, The Psychiatrist, Columbo and Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law) prior to helming Duel.  The response to Spielberg’s tv movie was so good that Spielberg was brought back to shoot additional scenes to bring the film to feature length.  Duel was given a release in Europe, Australia and even a limited US release.

Richard Matheson provides the screenplay based on his short story of the same name.  Matheson’s resume contains so many winners and Duel is on that list.

Dennis Weaver does an excellent job of acting especially since he’s often the only person on screen.  It’s interesting to note the number of other performers who actually appear in the film because it’s Weaver and the trucker from hell that we remember.

I watched Duel when it premiered.  I was spending the night at my grandparents.  My grandpa and I watched together. (We both liked it a lot.)

Duel earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Corny Casanovas” (1952) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Corny Casanovas (1952)

Director:  Jules White

Writer:  Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard and Connie Cezon.

Tagline: None

The Plot…

The boys decide to clean up their house (with their usual brand of success) just hours before they are all to be married. Once their house is tidy, they will all head off to get hitched to their future brides.  Surprisingly none of our guys have seen the others’ fiancés.  What they don’t know, but will soon learn is they are all expecting to marry the same woman!  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Surprisingly, Shemp and Larry give Moe the business more than they get it from him in this one!

Corny Casanovas earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Silo” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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I’m not familiar with the Silo series by Hugh Howey (and why didn’t Howey get credit in the trailer when it said, “based on the best selling book series”).  The poster doesn’t sell the series to me, but that trailer has me wanting to see it!

The truth will surface. Silo premieres May 5 on Apple TV+ https://apple.co/_Silo

In a ruined and toxic future, thousands live in a giant silo deep underground. After its sheriff breaks a cardinal rule and residents die mysteriously, engineer Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) starts to uncover shocking secrets and the truth about the silo.

“Curse of the Werewolf” – Two Good Reasons To Share This Photo!

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I have two very good reasons for sharing the above photo:

  1. I recently re-watched Curse of the Werewolf.
  2. The wolfman design from Curse of the Werewolf is still the best designed loup-garou ever.

I’ll bet you thought I was going to make a Mel Brooks joke, didn’t ya?  If you’d like to see a bigger version of the photo, you can thanks to I Bought That Comic.

“Listen, Judge” (1952) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Listen, Judge (1952)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Writer:  Elwood Ullman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Kitty McHugh, Vernon Dent, Emil Sitka, John Hamilton and Gil Perkins.

Tagline: They’re very long on laughs as very short-order cooks!

The Plot…

The boys are door-to-door repairmen hired to fix a doorbell.  When our guys cause such a commotion that the chef and his staff leave, the Stooges are hired to cook and serve at a high class dinner party.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Listen, Judge was the first Stooges short released after Curly’s death.  The film borrows from three previous Stooges outings: A Plumbing We Will Go (the courtroom chicken scene); They Stooge to Conga (the whole doorbell repair sequence) and An Ache in Every Stake (the food preparation scene).

Shemp having a chicken escape from his suit jacket immediately after a judge finds the boys not guilty of being chicken thieves due to a lack of evidence is hilarious.

Listen Judge earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Some More of Samoa” (1941) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Some More of Samoa (1941)

Director:  Del Lord

Writer:  Elwood Ullman, Harry Edwards

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Symona Boniface and Dudley Dickerson

Tagline: Gales of laughter in the South Seas!

The Plot…

The boys head to the remote tropical island of Rhum-Boogie in search of a rare tree.  On the island they are captured by cannibals.  Our guys are going to on the menu unless Curly agrees to marry the Chief’s ugly daughter.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

At one point Larry and Moe do a short Amos ‘n Andy bit.

Some More of Samoa earns 4 of 5 stars.

Marco Finnegan Gets Carter

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That’s Marco Finnegan’s take on Sly as Jack Carter! When the opportunity came to get a sketch from Marco I jumped on it. Marco knows what to put in and more importantly what to leave out.  His art style reminds me of Alex Toth and Darwyn Cooke.

I first became aware of Marco’s art when he teamed with Ace Atkins on two Nick Travers graphic novels: Last Fair Deal Gone Down and Crossroad Blues.

I was already reading Ace Atkins novels, so I decided to seek out more of Marco’s art.  If you’re so inclined you can as well on his website or his Twitter.  Marco is currently the artist on 007, Dynamite Comics new James Bond comics.

RIP: Tom Sizemore

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Tom Sizemore died yesterday the result of a brain aneurysm. suffered on February 18, 2023.  Mr. Sizemore remained in a coma and never regained consciousness.  He was 61.

Tom Sizemore acted in feature films and television throughout his career.  His first major role was in Sylvester Stallone’s Lock Up.  That same year Mr. Sizemore also had smaller parts in Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July and Penn & Teller Get Mugged.  Over the course of his career Tom Sizemore accumulated well over 200 acting credits.  Although Mr. Sizemore had little trouble getting roles in major features and high profile projects, he sometimes struggled in his personal life.

Some of Tom Sizemore’s feature film appearances include: Lock Up; Penn & Teller Get Mugged; Born on the Fourth of July; Blue Steel; Point Break; Harley Davidson & the Marlboro Man; Passenger 57; True Romance; Striking Distance; Wyatt Earp; Natural Born Killers; Strange Days; Devil in a Blue Dress; Heat; The Relic; Saving Private Ryan; Enemy of the State; Bringing Out the Dead; Get Carter (voice only); Pearl Harbor; Black Hawk Down; Dreamcatcher and Reach Me.

Some of Tom Sizemore’s television appearances include: China Beach (6 episodes); Witness to the Mob; Witness Protection; Sins of the Father; Justice League (2 episodes);  Robbery Homicide Division (13 episodes); Dr. Vegas (6 episodes); Superstorm (3 episodes); CSI Miami; Crash (5 episodes); Southland; Entourage;  It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia;  Hawaii Five-0 (5 episodes); The Red Road (7 episodes); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2 episodes); Lucifer; Shooter (6 episodes); Twin Peaks (6 episodes) and Cobra Kai.

I first became aware of Tom Sizemore is in Lock Up with Sylvester Stallone.  It was also Mr. Sizemore’s first major film role.  He would “appear” with Sly Stallone in two other films: Get Carter and Reach Me.  I put appear in quotes since Tom Sizemore was a voice on the phone in Get Carter.  Although you didn’t see him, his distinctive voice added gravitas to the role.  My favorite Tom Sizemore role was Sergeant Horvath in Saving Private Ryan, but he was also so good in so many other parts.  For a period of time it seemed Tom Sizemore was part of every big movie I was excited to see.  And he always made them better.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Tom Sizemore’s family, friends and fans.

“Grips, Grunts and Groans” (1937) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Grips, Grunts and Groans (1937)

Director:  Jack White

Writer:  Clyde Bruckman from a story by Searle Kramer, Herman Boxer

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The boys become friends with Ivan Bustoff, a professional wrestling champion.  Bustoff has a match that evening, but spends the day drinking/carousing with our guys.  A local mobster has placed a big bet on Bustoff and if he’s unable to wrestle or loses, it’ll be the death of the Stooges. So when Bustoff is unable to compete, Larry and Moe disguise Curly as the champ.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

In Grips, Grunts and Groans when Curly smells Wild Hyacinth perfume, it makes him go crazy. (Much like in Horses’ Collars when the sight of a mouse sets him off.)  They could have made more shorts just of our guys going out drinking with Bustoff – think of the misadventures they could have had!

Grips, Grunts and Groans earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Florida Man” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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I like the poster and trailer for Florida Man.  Since it is on Netflix, checking it out will be a no-brainer.

Murder. Manhunts. Manatees. FLORIDA MAN, a new Netflix limited series from creator Donald Todd (Ugly Betty, This Is Us), follows a struggling ex-cop (Edgar Ramírez) who is forced to return to his home state of Florida to find a Philly mobster’s runaway girlfriend. What should be a quick gig becomes a wildly spiraling journey into buried family secrets, and an increasingly futile attempt to do the right thing in a place where so much is wrong.

Also starring Abbey Lee, Anthony LaPaglia, Otmara Marrero, Lex Scott Davis, Emory Cohen, Clark Gregg, Isaiah Johnson, Paul Schneider and Lauren Buglioli.